Decisions
by fantasticfangirl
Summary: Percy never left Ogygia. He stayed with Calypso, and let the Titan war be decided without him. Now, many eons later, he is haunted by dreams from his past. When a mysterious messenger takes him back to New York, he realizes he made the wrong decision in staying at Ogygia. The question is, is it too late to change his past?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Percy's POV

Gray sky...

Fire...

Smoke...

Then the screams come. The screams that burn themselves into my mind.

"Percy! Where are you?"

"Percy! Help!"

"Percy!"

I never see the faces of the people who scream, only blurry outlines of human beings. But I recognize the voices. They are the voices of the people I left behind, the people I abandoned. And they are dying. Somehow I know they're dying because of me.

I wake up shaking. I've had this same dream for several months, or is it years? I honestly don't know. Time is different here on Ogygia.

There is a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." My voice is weak. I can't stop thinking about the dream.

Calypso walks in. Even though I've been here for so long, she still takes my breath away every time I see her. I can tell that she's just woken up. Her cinnamon hair is all pushed to one side, and her almond eyes still bear the traces of sleep. Somehow, I love her even more when she looks like this.

"Are you okay?" Her voice is soft. "I heard you screaming."

I draw a shaky breath and try to look like I'm not haunted by spirits from my past.

"I wasn't- I mean, I was just dreaming."

She presses a kiss to my forehead. "Don't worry it was just a dream."

"Yes," I whisper. "Just a dream."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Percy's POV

The sunlight catches the waves, giving them a gold lining. Foam sprays up into the air, then falls back, mixing with the water. The ocean glitters in all shades of blue you could possibly imagine, sometimes sapphire, sometimes azure, and sometimes an entirely different shade.

Water always calms me down. I guess that's one of the perks of being a son of Poseidon. Poseidon, one of the eldest gods…

The calm I felt from watching the ocean vanishes. The great prophecy, it was supposed to be about _me._ And what did I, the great hero, do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm a coward, hiding here on this island, while my friends have to fight my battle for me. And you know what the worst thing is? It's too late, far too late to go back and change it.

_Or is it? _

I jump. That voice… I recognize it! But I don't know from where. It's like a memory I can't quite reach, slipping through my fingers.

_We have not met in a long time Perseus Jackson. But don't worry. You will remember me soon._

How did it know what I was thinking? Then I realize it. The voice is speaking in my mind. I am truly going crazy now.

_You are not insane, Perseus. At least not yet. What I have to show you might very well drive you crazy._

"What do-"I begin, but then I am violently jerked away from my body. I feel myself floating, floating up towards the sky. I open my mouth to scream, but I can't make a sound. Then I see the speaker.

It's _Rachel._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rachel's POV

_My name is Rachel Elisabeth Dare._

_My name is Rachel Elisabeth Dare._

_My name is Rachel Elisabeth Dare._

I repeat my mantra over and over in my head.

_My name is Rachel Elisabeth Dare._

It reminds me of who I was.

_My name is Rachel Elisabeth Dare._

It keeps me sane.

_My name is Rachel Elisabeth Dare, and I haven't been in control of my body for 200 years._

"Rachel?"

That voice. I know that voice. It's that voice that tried to convince me a sword was a pen, the voice that told me to run. The voice of Percy Jackson.

"_Percy!" _I try to shout, but I can't. I'm a prisoner in my own body.

_Your little friend can't answer you, _my voice says, but it isn't me that speaks. It's that _thing._

"What have you done with her?" Percy's voice is shrill. "And, what are you going to do with me?"

_I did not do anything to your little friend, _the thing speaks. _She came to me willingly. And as for you, little hero, you will understand soon enough._

The thing is right. It did not force anything. I let it in.

It was two years after I last saw Percy. I had a dream, a dream which told me I had to go to a special place. It was the only way to save Percy.

Somehow, I knew the dream was real. It was a feeling I got, and I knew I had to go and save Percy from whatever terrible danger he was in. So I did.

The "place" turned out to be an old rundown holiday cabin, the sort of place I'd always wanted to go to when I was a kid. But my parents had thought it was too "tacky", and besides, there might be "poor people" around. Now, we wouldn't want that.

Anyway, the door creaked open, all by it's self, and what I saw made me want to slam it shut again. It was a mummy. _Minus _the wrappings.

Then it spoke. It asked me if I wanted to save Percy Jackson, if I wanted to save the world. And I said yes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Thalia's POV

I remember when my mother used to come home late at night, smelling of alcohol and other substances I couldn't place. She would walk, or rather wobble over to my bed, and lean down beside me.

"Darling," She would whisper. "You are the most amazing thing I have ever known; you know that, don't you?"

She would sit next to my bed for a while, probably waiting for me to get up and hug her, telling her that she was the best mum in the whole world. But I never did. I always pretended to be asleep.

The words she whispered weren't true. It was the alcohol speaking, not her. When she was sober (which she almost never was) she saw me as nothing more than a broken promise. My father, Zeus, had promised her everything. Eternal beauty, immortality, all of those things. But he never did that. He broke his promise. And because of that, my mother would always see me as a disappointment.

I don't know why I remember this right now. Perhaps it is because, just like I was many years ago, I am a disappointment. My lady Artemis's broken body rests at my feet, as does the body of her brother, Apollo. All of her hunters are either killed or taken prisoner. I do not deserve the honor of being lieutenant. Kneeling at my lady's side, I take the circlet from my head, and gingerly place it on her chest.

Suddenly her hand grips my arm. I cry out in surprise as she opens her eyes. I can see the great strain it requires for her to open her mouth, but she does it anyway.

"Thalia…" Her voice is hoarse. "My finest lieutenant…"

She pauses, coughing. Blood splatters the ground.

"My lady," I begin, but her grip on my arm tightens. She looks me straight in the eyes.

"You could have been great, Thalia."

If someone had stabbed me now, I doubt it would hurt more than her words.

"Please stop," I whisper, tears streaming down my cheeks. But she doesn't.

"Why did you do it Thalia?" Her eyes are filled with great sadness. "Why?"

Then her grip on me loosens, and her body goes still.

"I'm sorry." I say out loud, even though I know nobody can hear me. Everyone is dead. And it's all because of me.

I gently close Lady Artemis's eyes. I feel like it might be a small redemption, but nothing I can ever do will make up for the crime I committed. Ever.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Percy's POV

_As for you, little hero, you will understand soon enough._

"Understand what? Who are you even?"

_Ah, but you already know me. I am the messenger, the prophet…_

"The oracle." I finish, as I feel a sense of horror settling in my stomach. Rachel, Rachel who saved my life twice without me ever thanking her, Rachel who had enough guts to stand up to skeleton warriors and vampire cheerleaders. Rachel, who despite everything is still a mortal. And now the oracle has taken over her body.

_I sense the disgust in your face, as well as the fear. _

The oracles voice startles me out of my thoughts.

_You think I am taking advantage of your young friend. But let me tell you this. Without me, your Rachel would surely have died. And without her, my spirit would have been lost forever, buried under tons of burnt carnage._

Surely have died?

Burnt carnage?

"What happened when I left?" I look at Rachel, but really, I don't need to ask. I know now that my dreams were not simply dreams, but messages from the past. In my laziness, in my unwillingness to fight, I have ruined everything.

_What do you think? Someone else had to fulfill the prophecy._

"Not…" My voice quivers. "Nico?"

The oracles silence is all I need to know I am right.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nico's POV

The spirits part before me. I know that it is a sign of great respect, but I can't help but wish they wouldn't. Even in death, I am the outsider, the misfit.

All the other spirits have forgotten. They haunt the Fields of Asphodel, their brains empty. But as a child of Hades, it is my blessing, or curse, to remember. And I remember everything.

The demigods from Camp Half-Blood found me after Percy's disappearance. They begged me to find him, to see if he was dead. There was something strange about his soul. He was not dead, that much I could tell, but he was by no means living either. It was as if his body was suspended in time.

The years passed, and the army of Kronos only grew stronger. They stormed Camp Half-Blood through the entrance to the Labyrinth, and nobody could hold them back. The few of us who escaped lived in hiding.

When my sixteenth birthday came, I knew I had to fulfill the prophecy. But it felt wrong somehow. This wasn't _my _prophecy.

And I was right. When we met with the Titan army, it was a bloodbath. All of us were killed. All, except me.

Somehow I managed to stay alive. Call it luck if you wish, but it really wasn't. It is not _luck_ to see your friends and allies slaughtered in front of you, while you remain standing.

But I knew I had to end this somehow. I prepared myself to fight Kronos. He had a new body know. An automaton, the works of Daedalus. I approached him, raising my sword, but he only laughed.

"Destroy me then, little son of Hades, but when you do, your friend dies as well."

He pointed to a body lying motionless at his feet. I bit back a scream.

"Thalia!"

When I called her name, she stirred mumbling something. I couldn't stop myself. I rushed forward, and knelt at her side, checking for a pulse.

Kronos sneered. "She is not dead yet, but she will be soon. And only you can save her."

"How?" I demanded.

I know it was stupid, but after seeing so many die in battle, I couldn't be the reason for her death as well.

"Give me your sword."

Grimacing, I held it out to him. That was my biggest mistake. The moment Kronos took my sword; Thalia rolled over, and stabbed me in the gut. She had been hiding a small knife in her palm.

The last thing I saw was Thalia looking at me, tears glistening in her eyes.

Now I wander the Fields of Asphodel. And as a son of Hades, it is my curse to remember.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Percy's POV

I feel sick. I can't believe I just hid away, naively hoping that everything would be fine, even though deep down I knew it wouldn't be. I chose to look away, to not see what was right in front of me. I forced others to attempt the task that was given to me.

And you know what the worst thing is? It's too late, far too late to change anything.

_Or is it?_

I jump. I'd almost forgotten Rachel.

"What-What do you mean?" My voice is unsteady. "The war was years ago, it's too late to do anything _now."_

_That's where you are wrong, Perseus. You think that the past is frozen, that what has been has been. But that's where you are wrong. Time is a living thing. It cannot be changed, that much is true, but manipulated? It has, in fact, been done before. Foolish mortals have struck deals with time, to allow them to go back and make different choices. But what they never realize is that unraveling time comes at a price. It is not so easy to change a small thing. If you go back and save your father's life, perhaps, you might very well be killed in his stead. Demigods have always had better sense than to manipulate time; they have deemed the risks higher than the profit. And it always has been. Until now._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Rachel's POV

_The oracle._

Finally, after all these years, I have a name for what has been controlling my body, what has been living inside of me like a parasite.

The Oracle of Delphi.

But the strangest thing is, I'm not really surprised. Somehow, subconsciously, I already knew. I feel kind of stupid for not guessing it earlier.

"_You are not stupid, far from it." _

I jerk. It's the oracle, but it's not talking to Percy. It's doing something it hasn't done for 200 years. It's speaking to _me._

"_Yes, you," _the oracle sounds amused, if that's even possible for a spirit which has been alive for eons. "_And you are not stupid, Rachel Dare, you are smarter than any mortal I have ever met. It requires great strength and wisdom to be my priestess, my Pythia, and you are both. A lesser mind would have gone insane years ago."_

Insane? I could have gone _insane?_

"_You could have. But you didn't. I have possessed you for nigh 200 years, and you are still quite as sane as you were before."_

I want to answer, but then Percy's voice interrupts me.

"Wait, you want me to travel through _time? _Like someone in a crappy fantasy novel?"

The oracle's voice is dry.

"_Put it that way if you wish, but yes, I do want you to travel through time."_

"And what should I do there? Don't you have like a prophecy or something?"

"_No, Perseus. Despite what you might think, I do not sprout prophecies at command. I do, however, have some information about what you must do."_

"What?" Percy's voice is strangely enthusiastic, like he can't wait to throw himself through time, and quite possibly die. Then again, Percy never hesitated to risk his life.

"_You will need the son of Hades; he must play a part in the final battle. Although, not the part he originally had. And you will need-"_

The oracle is interrupted by a booming voice.

"WHO DARES INTRUDE MY DOMAINS?"

A sense of dread goes through my body, not just mine, but the oracle's as well.

"_Kronos." _It breathes, just as a bolt of lightning knocks us out of the sky.

But Percy isn't falling. He is slowly spiraling towards the ground, and suddenly the lower half of his body disappears.

Somehow I know what's happening. He is being sucked into the void of time.

"Who else do I need?" His voice is hoarse, barely audible over the crackling of lightning.

"_The girl!" _The oracle's voice is desperate. _"She will play a major role. You must save-"_

Then another bolt of lightning strikes us, and everything goes black. My last thought is one of despair. Percy will never know who he needs to save.


End file.
